Apr 06 2009
Lowe and powerful, Braves open with resounding W at Philly
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
Braves 4, Phillies 1
Top of the Order: Sparked by eight innings of two-hit, shutout ball from Derek Lowe, and three home runs in the first two innings, the Braves opened the 2009 season with a resounding statement, dominating the defending World Series champs.
The Good: Lots and lots of it for a team that lost 90 games last season. First and foremost, the offense gave Lowe an early lead and took the frothing Philly faithful out of it. Brian McCann blasted a 460-foot homer into the second deck in the top of the first. Jeff Francoeur smacked a line-drive homer on the first pitch of the second inning. Rookie Jordan Schafer finished 2-for-3 with a walk, became the fourth Brave in franchise history to homer in his first at-bat in the majors (I saw the last one in person; Jermaine Dye back in 1996), Schafer belting a homer to deep center field. Lowe took it from there, walking none and striking out four in a dominant performance. Six of Lowe’s eight innings were 1-2-3, the new Braves’ ace needing just 97 pitches in shutting down the dangerous Philly lineup. Mike Gonzalez worked into some trouble in the ninth, but rallied with big strikeouts of lefties Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. Chipper Jones doubled and singled during a 2-for-4 night.
The Bad: Gonzalez had trouble locating his breaking ball in the ninth, getting hurt with a couple of pitches up in the zone. He also walked one in a 28-pitch inning that had the stomachs of Braves Nation churning. Kelly Johnson and Francoeur nearly collided on Carlos Ruiz’s pop-up down the right-field line in the third, the ball ticking off Frenchy’s glove after Johnson didn’t peel off in time. Ruiz then doubled down the left-field line for the first hit surrendered by Lowe.
View from the Sports Garage: Actually, it’s the view from Jocks & Jills Galleria in beautiful Marietta, Ga., where a group of bloggers and Braves’ fans gathered Sunday night to officially toss dirt on the horror of 2008 and cheer on the beginning of a season full of promise and hope. And the Braves delivered their part in a big-time way, in front of a nationwide audience on ESPN. I guess the Braves didn’t hear all the talk in the offseason surrounding their lack of power, because they bashed Philly starter Brett Myers in the early going. McCann’s shot was huge, coming after Myers retired the first two hitters before Chipper’s single. Frenchy put a good swing on his homer, and Schafer absolutely belted his shot. What a night for the 22-year-old rookie center fielder, who ended up drawing an intentional walk later in the game. But the big story was Lowe. This is how it used to be for the Braves, back when the Braves had great starting pitching. Domination. Working the corners. Calm and cool. Lowe was a missed pop fly and a seeing-eye single away from having a perfect game working. Maybe Bobby Cox would’ve let him pitch the ninth then, because Gonzalez gave all of us around the big table reason to cringe. I give Gonzo credit though, because he really rallied back against Howard and then took care of Ibanez. A great, great start to the season, folks. So good to be banging out regular-season copy now, folks. And a great time at Jocks & Jills. Thanks to all that came out … even the one Mets fan who joined us. All a great group of folks and I’d dare venture to say it won’t be the last time we all gather and watch some ball. Good food. Good times. Good conversation. And baseball … it’s back! A super good show for openers for Braves Nation. Now, a day off to savor leading the NL East! Magic number 161! Next!!
On deck
Braves at Phillies
7 p.m. Tuesday, Citizens Bank Park
The Skinny: It’ll be one of the better young pitchers in the game against the oldest pitcher in baseball. Jair Jurrjens, who won 13 games for the Braves as a rookie in 2008, toes the slab against 46-year-old Jamie Moyer. The Phillies’ lefty made his major-league debut in June 1986, five months after Jurrjens made his debut … his debut on the planet, that is. Jurrjens beat the Phils in Philly last July with a strong eight-inning performance, finishing the season 1-2 in four games against the eventual World Series champs. Moyer, who went 16-7 last season, pitched twice against Atlanta in 2008, posting a 6.55 ERA with two no-decisions. Time to keep the momentum rolling from a great opening night performance.
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Oops … forgot to post my division picks as promised.
NL East
Mets
Braves (wild card)
Phillies
Marlins
Nationals
NL Central
Cubs
Cardinals
Reds
Brewers
Astros
Pirates
NL West
Dodgers
Giants
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Padres
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox (wild card)
Rays
Blue Jays
Orioles
AL Central
Twins
Indians
Tigers
White Sox
Royals
AL West
Angels
A’s
Mariners
Rangers
–30–
Mornin’ Scribe,
Can’t ask for a better performance out of the gate than what we got last night from Derek Lowe and Jordan “Logan” Schafer. Well, we could, but that would just be greedy.
I like what I see early on from Jeff Francoeur obviously, I think the more open stance is paying dividends. He’ll mash anything middle of the plate in, which surprised me to see Myers still trying to hit the inside corner against him during later at bats. Jeff will need to make the adjustment when pitchers start loading up and throwing outside and I’m cautiously optimistic that he will.
Gonzo’s ninth inning adventure is something to note, however he seemed really amped up to me until he seemed to settle into a groove against Howard and Ibanez to finish the festivities out.
Nothing better than ruining the night for Phillies fans and it’s great to come out against a team that pretty much had our number a year ago and get the kind of game we witnessed last night.